A gain for Washington, an embarrassment for Moscow (Kyrgyzstan & Bush's global drive for freedom)

The revolutions rolling through Russia's backyard shifted from the borders of the European Union to the Chinese frontier as Kyrgyzstan fell to the daffodil-clutching opponents of the former communist apparatchik and St Petersburg physicist Askar Akayev, whose early promise degenerated into nepotism, sleaze, rigged elections and the jailing of rivals

The daffodils of Bishkek suggested a springtime of hope in the dictatorial "stans" of Central Asia. But the Kyrgyz capital was so suffused with menace and volatility that its uprising could quickly turn ugly, setting it apart from the recent Ukrainian and Georgian revolutions, which were characterised by determined and determinedly peaceful civil resistance to the shenanigans of the incumbents.

The conflict is partly clan-based and between regions, not solely between democrats and despots. Organised crime is said to be fomenting trouble.

But with luck the momentum of people power will usher in a period of fairer and cleaner government that will ring alarm bells in the neighbouring post-Soviet dictatorships.

International mediation may be necessary if things are not to turn bloody. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe volunteered itself for that important role on Thursday.

After the rigged elections three weeks ago that triggered the revolt, the US warned Akayev not to try to entrench himself in power by fiddling the constitution before his second term expired in October. The signs were that he was doing just that, or preparing a dynastic succession by engineering parliamentary seats for a son and daughter.

Now, with Akayev and his family fleeing the country, the result will be hailed as another gain in the global march of freedom that the Bush White House has proclaimed as its second-term mission.

In Russia, the White House's gain will certainly be taken as the Kremlin's loss.

In Kyrgyzstan the Kremlin has not committed the blunders and experienced the humiliation it did in Ukraine. Nonetheless, the turn of events in Bishkek demonstrates Vladimir Putin's weakness. He has managed to manoeuvre himself into the unenviable position of being identified as a not very effective supporter and protector of unsavoury regimes throughout the post-Soviet space.

The "revolution" had zero to do with being pro or anti-American - in fact the guy that fell from power was pretty pro-American. But simplistic news gets less knowledgable readers attention who want to say "Freedom is on the march" and other sloganeers.

Revolution that came too soon starts to fall apart in chaotic Kyrgyzstan Mary Dejevsky reports from the capital on violent ethnic rivalry and a growing sense that no one is in control - 27 March 2005

The ignominious flight of the president as protesting crowds invaded the presidential compound and government buildings in Bishkek would not have been how Askar Akayev would have wanted to be remembered in Kyrgyzstan. When he came to power in 1990, it was as a mild-mannered nuclear physicist, with a doctorate from Leningrad (now St Petersburg) University, who was chosen from the ranks of the Communist Party in the wake of serious ethnic violence in the southern border areas of the republic. He was chosen precisely because he did not have the profile of a party hack, but that of a liberal and progressive politician rather in the mould of Mikhail Gorbachev, who would be able to keep the country together through turbulent times. This profile endeared him to the West, as did his decision a few months before the break-up of the Soviet Union to abandon Mr Gorbachev and throw in his lot with the Russian leader, Boris Yeltsin.

When I interviewed him in September 1991, he was eloquent in his hopes for his homeland - and confident that he could preside over the modernisation of Kyrgyzstan as a state and an economy.

The test of the "tulip" - or is it the "daffodil"? - revolution will be whether Kyrgyz voters are content with the change they have forced. Or will they, in a few months' time, be wishing they had their old president back?

The guys in power now?

I) opposition leader and former Vice President Felix Kulov, sprung from jail by the "Pink Revolutionaries," was a deputy interior minister in the Soviet era, when he commanded troops who killed dozens of protesters who stormed a police station in southern Kyrgyzstan during the last days of the Soviet Union;

II) former Prime Minister Kurmanbek Bakiyev – under his regime, in March 2002, riots broke out in his home region in the south, protesting the arrest of their parliamentary deputy. Police fired into a crowd of 1,500, and five people died. Bakiyev was forced to resign after an investigation;

III) Ishenbai Kadyrbekov – elected "provisional" speaker by a dubious amalgam of the former parliament and others. Mr. Kadyrbeko is an incumbent deputy leader of the Communist Party, who accused the administration of President Askar Akayev of bugging his telephone (something a Communist would never do!), and a man, furthermore, with a somewhat dubious reputation.

"The "revolution" had zero to do with being pro or anti-American - in fact the guy that fell from power was pretty pro-American. But simplistic news gets less knowledgable readers"

Once again you miss the point, my plastic super hero idolizing FRiend. The only one pushing even the idea that this is an anti or pro US Agenda on this situation is you. Most are only seeing (and cheering) that these people are throwing a dictator out on his tail, and they are choosing democracy over a despot.

Go ahead and try your pro-Pooty-Toot spin, but I don't think many even listen to you here. You marginalize yourself even more every time you try to sell this stuff.

This guy was so pro-American right? How "Pro-American" was he? Did he have "Mother, Applie Pie, and Baseball" tatooed on his arm? Or maybe he visited the klintoon Whitehouse? Or maybe Jimmy Carter vouched for his last 99.5% election victory, so he said nice things about Jimmuh?

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.